Crocus vernus Pickwick

'Pickwick' is a variety of large-flowered crocus called "mammoth," particularly radiant and easy to grow. It is an old variety that still captivates when its large white flowers, veined and streaked with mauve and violet-blue, open on a small cluster of orange stamens. They bloom in February-March, just after those of Crocus chrysanthus, perfectly timed to pierce the winter gloom in lawns, rockeries, and containers.

The 'Pickwick' crocus is a variety derived from the Crocus vernus, the spring crocus, a perennial plant with a corm from the family Iridaceae. Like many horticultural hybrids with spring flowering, this variety produces large-sized flowers. The species itself is native to central and eastern Europe, and, as such, is extremely hardy and well-adapted to our climate. 'Pickwick' forms a clump of dark green linear leaves with a white median in late winter, from which solitary flowers emerge in February-March, born from a pale whitish spathe marked with violet, about ten centimetres tall. On each white corolla washed with pale mauve, beautiful purple stripes and veins appear. In this variety, all the petals have the same patterns and colours (unlike 'King of the Striped', which resembles it). The flowers close at night and in bad weather, only to open wide in the sun, revealing bright orange stamens that are quite stunning.

Crocuses are undisputed stars, as they are the first smiles of spring. 'Pickwick' is a "mammoth" variety, brightly coloured and full of freshness, that you can enjoy here and there in a rockery, at the edge of the lawn or along a pathway as soon as winter ends. When planted in large groups, it forms magnificent flowering carpets over time, with no maintenance required. It also grows very well in pots or containers, to brighten up balconies and terraces. Crocuses prefer to stay in place where they naturalize easily and increase in size year after year. It is just important not to remove the leaves before they wither, as they replenish their reserves after flowering. There are also crocuses that bloom in autumn, such as Sternbergia lutea,  saffron, and other autumn crocuses, which are just as charming and easy to grow.